Today the Obama Administration finalized new standards that will increase fuel economy for cars and light-duty trucks to the equivalent of 54.5 mpg. The newest standards will be implemented by 2025, and when combined with previous standards set by the administration, will nearly double the fuel efficiency of future vehicles as compared to new vehicles currently on our roads. The administration estimates that the new standards will save consumers more than $1.7 trillion at the gas pump and reduce U.S. oil consumption by 12 billion barrels.

“These fuel standards represent the single most important step we’ve ever taken to reduce our dependence on foreign oil,” said President Obama. “This historic agreement builds on the progress we’ve already made to save families money at the pump and cut our oil consumption. By the middle of the next decade our cars will get nearly 55 miles per gallon, almost double what they get today. It’ll strengthen our nation’s energy security, it’s good for middle class families and it will help create an economy built to last.”

The new standards issued today by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) build on the Obama Administration’s standards for cars and light trucks for Model Years 2011-2016, which raised average fuel efficiency by 2016 to the equivalent of 35.5 mpg. The final standards were developed by DOT’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and EPA following engagement with automakers, the United Auto Workers, consumer groups, environmental and energy experts, states, and the public. The program also includes targeted incentives to encourage early adoption and introduction into the marketplace of advanced technologies to dramatically improve vehicle performance, such as with electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, and fuel cells vehicles.

As Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said: “Simply put, this groundbreaking program will result in vehicles that use less gas, travel farther, and provide more efficiency for consumers than ever before—all while protecting the air we breathe and giving automakers the regulatory certainty to build the cars of the future here in America.”